Today I went to Nîmes to watch the equestrian corrida of the Feria de Pentecôte 2015. Every year I am a bit hesitant to write about corridas – as I am aware of the ambivalence of some about this local tradition. This year I have decide to speak up. To that end, I have looked for what somebody else might have written on the subject that best would express my sentiment – and I found Robert Elms’ piece in The Independent (here), which I have adapted below.

When I saw my first ever corrida – it's not really a bullfight, anybody foolhardy enough to fight a bull would be a goner within minutes – I was immediately smitten. But I know not everybody is.

Much of the antipathy to the corrida comes from the misconception that it is a sport, and a deeply unfair one at that. But this unique event, which is reviewed in the culture section of Spanish newspapers alongside opera, cannot be considered a sport; the end is pre-ordained, the pattern deeply repetitive and the element of competition almost entirely absent.

Of course there are genuine anti-taurine activists whose convictions are real and valid. Groups of a few hundreds of them sometimes gather to protest outside the Roman arenas in Nîmes where I go regularly, but then again 10,000 fans of the corrida are inside.

"FOR Home Hunts, a successful 2013 and a strong start to 2014 is signalling the start of a buoyant year, which could confirm France’s longstanding position as a stable and thriving prime property marketplace. During the first few months of 2014, Home Hunts received almost 50% more enquiries and sales for prime market properties than in the same period last year. Furthermore, throughout 2013 Home Hunts also received a record number of visits from overseas buyers, all seeking to capitalise on the unique economic and political conditions currently available in France."

"As houses prices dropped by around 5% in 2013, there are currently plenty of interesting investment opportunities available. Uzès and Montpellier have been selected by Nicola Christinger-Grant, Manager of the Languedoc office for Home Hunts, as the most popular locations for prime property investment inthe region. “With the choice of some great small airports, like Avignon and Nîmes, both with TGV stations, access is easy for buyers, plus there is the international airport of Montpellier,” says Nicola."

Festivals, museum, concerts, workshops, exhibitions… The Pont-du-Gard, which was added to the UNESCO World Heritage list in 1985, has grown into a godsend for tourism in this part of western Provence located at the northern tip of Languedoc. But “without selling its soul”, says the site manager.

The Pont du Gard is a spectacular well-preserved 3-tiered Roman aqueduct built over the River Gard (or Gardon). It is a bridge as well as an aqueduct, located 25 kilometers north-east of Nîmes in the direction of Avignon. At almost 50 meters in height, it is the tallest the Romans ever constructed. It is part of the aqueduct built around the year 20 BC to transport water over 50 kilometers from the Eure spring near Uzès to the city of Nîmes.

In 2011, 1.4m people visited the site (40% of them foreign tourists), making it the 2nd most visited provincial monument in France.

The Provence donkey is a unique breed of donkey originating from the Basse-Provence, Haute-Provence and Dauphine regions of France. The Uzès studfarm [le Haras d'Uzès] is where the Âne de provence's herdbook is located. Last week-end (September 10th and 11th), an exhibition was organized in Uzès alongside part of the Provence donkey national championship.

From 400,000 at the beginning of the 20th century, the number of donkeys had fallen to less than 20,000 by the 1980s. As a pet and useful for trekking, its number have risen again to about 40,000 animals. There are 9 breeds identified in France, with the breeding associations organizing many events and exhibitions in the different regions of France.

Since the 15th century this donkey (aka: Ane d'Arles; Ane de berger; Ane de la Crau; Ane deSavoie; Ane de transhumance) has been used for transhumance between the Basse-Provence and the high mountain pastures of the Haute Provence. The Donkeys have a strong bone structure, a docile temperament, good limbs in order to travel the mountain tracks. The Provence donkey has a pinkish-grey coat, similar to turtledove grey; black dorsal stripe; stripes on the limbs. Average size is 1.20-1.33m (sires) and 1.17-1.30m (mares). Large straight head well attached to a strong thick neck; often white around the eyes. The long ears and the edge of the eyes often have a hint of brownish red. Straight back, wide loins, strong hindquarters and powerful strong limbs. The feet, with rather wide hooves for those of a donkey, are perfectly adapted for trekking and heavy weights.

I was looking for a well fimed, well researched documentary about Uzège and our part of the South of France. Thanks to Peta Mathias, we're about to enjoy 6 full hours ot it! I cant wait to see the real thing. Until then, here's a trailer:

Centuries of settlers have left their stamp on Gard, making it a diverse and delightful place to visit, as Eleanor O’Kane discovers during an autumn visit she describes in Living France.

It’s not surprising the stone slabs of the Pont du Gard are the golden colour of just-baked bread; they’ve been toasting in the heat of the Mediterranean sun for a staggering 1,000 years. Rising to a height of 48 metres above the River Gardon, whose inky blue waters flow between the six arches of its first tier, this majestic bridge is one of those monuments, like the pyramids of Egypt, that become more impressive the more you learn about its construction. A UNESCO World Heritage monument, the stones that form this mortar-free bridge have been standing firm for centuries with nothing other than the ingenuity of Roman engineering holding them tight.

The Romans first passed through Gard in 118 BC during the construction of the first Roman road built in Gaul, the Via Domitia, which linked Italy to Spain. It was built over an existing road that, legend has it, was used by Hercules and Hannibal. Stretching from Italy, across the Alps and into modern-day Briançon in Haute-Alpes, across southern France to Perpignan then over the border into Spain, it facilitated the movement of the Emperor’s army and helped general communication across the Roman Empire. Less than 100 years later, a settlement was established in what is now Nîmes, capital of Gard, which became a thriving Roman town called Nemausus.

Civilised Roman towns required a great deal of water to feed their mansions, bath houses and public fountains and around their empire, the Romans constructed around 50 aqueducts to transport the water that was so key to their daily needs, including the aqueduct of Nîmes, which was built during 40-60 AD. The Pont du Gard is the most visible and impressive section of the 50-km-long aqueduct, a system of bridges, tunnels and pipes that carried 20 million gallons of clean water to Nemausus daily.

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Discover a preserved part of the South of France, in western Provence: from pottery farms (in Saint-Quentin-La-Poterie) to flamenco festivals (in Nîmes), from cooking schools to real estate ideas, from guest houses and boutique hotels to private tour guides - we cover it all.

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